Sampling and storytelling: Kanye West’s vocal and sonic narratives

PRE-PUBLICATION VERSION

PRE-PUBLICATION VERSION

Sampling and Storytelling: Kanye West’s Vocal

and Sonic Narratives

Lori Burns University of Ottawa

Alyssa Woods University of Ottawa

Marc Lafrance Concordia University

To cite this article: Burns, L., Woods, A., & Lafrance, M. (2016). Sampling and storytelling: Kanye

West’s vocal and sonic narratives. In K. Williams & J. Williams (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion

to the Singer-Songwriter (Cambridge Companions to Music, pp. 159-170). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCO9781316569207.015

Sampling and Storytelling: Kanye West’s Vocal

and Sonic Narratives

Lori Burns University of Ottawa

Alyssa Woods University of Ottawa

Marc Lafrance Concordia University

Numerous scholars have identified hip-hop as rooted in the practice of storytelling.1

Nelson George describes rap ‘as a showcase for the art of verbal dexterity and storytelling,’

while Tricia Rose has discussed its ‘ability to use the powerful tradition of black oration

and storytelling to render stylistically compelling music.’2 We hope to contribute to an

understanding of the hip-hop singer-songwriter by revealing Kanye West’s lyrical and

musical strategies as aligned with the characteristics of the singer-songwriter genre:

hence, we consider how he communicates about life experiences and delivers social

commentaries; we trace numerous social themes and concerns at the core of his lyrical

expression throughout his work; we examine how he creates an intimate space through

his musical expression and recording practices; and we discuss how he uses technology as

his instrument in order to develop innovative vocal and sonic expressive strategies.

Throughout his career, West has consistently engaged with the themes of fame and

celebrity, the music industry, consumerism, class and race. Some tracks develop these

themes in a ‘braggadocio’ style (e.g., ‘Good Life’), while others reveal his struggle with the

negative consequences of fame (e.g., ‘Everything I Am’). Our aim is to examine how West

communicates his social messages with a sense of immediacy by means of innovative

musical strategies and technologies. We also aim to illustrate how West extends and

deepens his cultural critique of fame, consumer culture, race and class through these

same strategies and technologies. More specifically, our analysis focuses on his much-

acclaimed work in the domain of sampling and production where we see him connecting

closely and intimately with his musical instrument. West’s work has been widely received

as innovative in terms of how it expands the conventions of hip-hop production. In what

follows, we concentrate on his selection of samples as well as their manipulation in the

context of his song structure, design, and expression.3

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 2

After gaining success as a producer (notably on Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint),

West became a rapper in 2002. Damon Dash, the CEO of Roc-A-Fella, found it hard to

imagine marketing West as a rapper.4 In addition to his style of dress, his middle-class

upbringing set him apart from many MCs. As Jay-Z states, ‘We all grew up street guys

who had to do whatever we had to do to get by. Then there’s Kanye, who to my

knowledge has never hustled a day in his life. I didn’t see how it could work.’5 Insofar as

mainstream rap has tended to construct itself in opposition to bourgeois norms and

values, it has in the past eschewed ‘preppy’ suburban images like West’s while celebrating

more ‘street-based’ images such as those of Jay-Z. While West could not position himself

as a ‘gangsta,’ his injury from a serious car accident became a tale of struggle on the track

‘Through The Wire’ (the first single from College Dropout, 2004).6 At an early point in his

career, this track revealed his own lived experience of aspiring for fame and acceptance.

For our analysis of a track from this early period, we have chosen the first single from

Late Registration. ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’—which samples Shirley Bassey’s

performance of Barry and Black’s ‘Diamonds are Forever’ (1971)—is a self-critical

examination of celebrity and consumerism, while the video linked to the 2006 film Blood

Diamond uses the material to confront the damaging effects of the diamond trade.

A turning point in his career, the album 808s & Heartbreak (2008) stands out as a

break with hip-hop conventions. West relies heavily on the Auto-Tune device and a

singing style instead of a typical MC rap delivery. At the same time, the songs are

arranged for the iconic 808s drum machine, creating a sparse texture and sense of longing

and nostalgia for 1980s hip-hop.7 From this album, we analyse ‘Welcome to Heartbreak,’ a

track that shows the subject to be struggling with the damaging effects of fame on his

personal life.

West’s 808s provoked a strong critical response in the entertainment media.8 When

questioned about his decision to sing instead of rap, he defended his creation of a

melodic album:

I always knew that the melody drives the record so much; if you think about my

biggest records, ‘Stronger,’ ‘Gold Digger,’ ‘Diamonds are Forever,’ ‘Good Life,’ they

always had that [sings melodic line]. And this was the big thing that connected

internationally, the reason why I’m one of the big artists, because they’re always

gonna get that melody. And I was like,…I’m just gonna make it be all melody.9

Not only does the album feature singing rather than rapping, it also relies much less on

sampling than his previous work—a stylistic feature that did not go unnoticed by

reviewers.10 West explains this feature:

Sampling and Storytelling 3

…this album doesn’t have a lot of like labels on it or samples, things to stand next

to it, to say, hey I’m cool ’cause I down with that funk… But to be able to…write

outright songs and melodies, it’s just a greater challenge, because you’re not

standing on all of these things that make you cool and stuff, it’s really like a naked

approach… And I think the song-writing, to have melody in it, makes it more

powerful at the end of the day.11

Invoking the notion that the album is ‘made from scratch’12 West distances himself from

sampling, despite its foundational role in hip-hop musical expression.13 He thus positions

himself as the sole creator of the music, invoking singer-songwriter authenticity. He goes

so far as to declare 808s as the forerunner of an original genre: ‘iTunes didn’t choose to

use it, but the genre for this sound is called pop art. That’s what I want it to say on iTunes:

pop art.’14 Continuing this line of thinking in a New Zealand press conference, he claims

that ‘I’m delivering art in its purest form…I think that everything that I deliver is fully art,

it is sonic art, and this is my project and I believe there are songs on it that will affect

culture, which is the end goal of a true pop artist…’15 With comments such as these, West

communicates an intense desire to connect with his audience on his terms and extend his

cultural reach.

Emerging out of the 808s period of genre experimentation, West’s fifth and sixth

albums, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013), feature a range of

expressive styles, from aggressive rapping to melodic Auto-Tuned singing. While West

maintained creative control, forty-two people were involved in the song writing,

recording, and production of MBDTF.16 Critics observed the influence of West’s previous

styles on MBDTF: ‘In some ways, it’s the culmination of Kanye West's first four albums,

but it does not merely draw characteristics from each one of them. The 13

tracks…sometimes fuse them together simultaneously.’17 His sampling references on the

album are diverse, from soul (Smokey Robinson in ‘Devil in a New Dress’) to progressive

rock (King Crimson in ‘Power’) to indie folk (Bon Iver in ‘Lost In the World’). While the

album moves beyond hip-hop conventions to experiment with diverse genres and

electronic textures, it still holds mainstream appeal. West himself indicated that it

contained ‘songs that are blatant radio hits, it’s like I’m speaking with today’s texture.’18

By contrast, West has stated that his intention with Yeezus was to create an album

that stood out within the genre: ‘I feel I was able to start making exactly what was in my

mind, again. And not having to speak with the textures of the time.’19 In comparing the

two albums, West stated: ‘Dark Fantasy can be considered to be perfect. I know how to

make perfect, but that’s not what I’m here to do. I’m here to crack the pavement and

make new grounds sonically and in society, culturally.’20 MBDTF’s extensive genre reach

is also evident on Yeezus, as West expands his sonic palette into minimalist textures and

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 4

industrial sounds. Intense electronic sounds are underpinned by samples from artists as

diverse as Nina Simone (jazz), Capleton (reggae), and Omega (progressive rock).21 From

Yeezus, we have chosen ‘Black Skinhead’ for its dark and oppositional statement on

racism in the music industry.

For each of the three chosen tracks, we analyse lyrics, music and video images. In

order to respect the narrative flow of our chosen tracks, our analyses are presented

sequentially, in order to capture the listener’s experience of the song’s narrative flow,

sonic events and vocal expressive strategies.

‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone,’ Late Registration (2005)22

West’s sampling of ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ is a straightforward example of his early song

production. Bassey’s chorus, which extols the enduring quality of diamonds in

comparison to the fragility of romantic love, is integrated as the chorus of West’s song.

Her chorus is juxtaposed with his rapped lyrics, which draw the listener into a reflection

on his financial success and burgeoning career status. Not only does he describe the

effects of his commercial success (i.e., a reference to his Porsche), he also refers to several

negative public events, culminating in an account of his disappointing loss at the 47th

Annual Grammy Awards, where the track ‘Through the Wire’ did not receive the award

for Best Rap Solo Performance. Interestingly, ‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone’ would go on

to receive the Grammy for Best Rap Song the following year.

The title of the sampled song conveys multiple meanings in relation to the themes

that West explores: 1) ‘Diamonds’ are the material subject of his critique of the ‘blood

diamond’ trade in the music video; 2) ‘Diamonds’ also stand as a symbol for success, a

central theme in West’s song; 3) The diamond is the iconic symbol for Roc-A-Fella

Records;23 4) In the lyrics, diamonds stand for the songs that he produces; and 5) The

chorus hook, ‘Diamonds Are Forever,’ invokes longevity, a status that West implicitly

claims in this song. Developing these themes, West offers a multi-layered exploration of

their iconic and symbolic meanings.

West’s track begins with a sampled passage from the original song’s introduction

[00:09-00:34]. Maintaining its majestic texture, the vocal is prominent and lush, while the

brass jabs are softened through the effects of reverb. At the first statement of West’s

chorus [00:15-00:34], his voice is more forward, and the Bassey sample is further back in

the mix. In the passage from Bassey’s final outro [02:14-02:34], she repeats ‘forever’ in a

motivic leap from B3 to F#4, and then rises to a climactic high C5 that resolves to B4. The C

major - B minor progression that supports Bassey’s resolution stands out as an

expressively marked Phrygian II, occurring in the song whenever the lyrics refer to the

Sampling and Storytelling 5

darker side of romance (‘desertion,’ ‘hurt,’ ‘lies,’ ‘death’). As Bassey resolves to B, a

majestic trombone line rises to a C# as added ninth over the closing B minor tonic.

West maintains the powerful brass line beneath Bassey’s final resolution, as well as the

active groove of the hat, however he adds a deep synthetic bass kick and a high

harpsichord sound as downbeat accents. In addition to these textural enhancements, he

manipulates the original phrase to intensify his own chorus. In response to Bassey’s

repetition of the word ‘forever,’ he repeats ‘ever’ in a series of rising statements [00:26-

00:33], culminating in his own strained B3.24 The rise in vocal pitch (unusual for an MC in

2005), the harmonic progression, and the instrumental gestures allow West to reach a

peak of intensity at the end of his chorus. In his treatment of the final cadence we hear

Bassey’s C-B resolution, but the sample fades before we can hear the trombone’s

dissonant C#. Instead, West introduces a high harpsichord gesture that lands on the C#

as a downbeat accent to the beginning of the ensuing verse.

As he develops his song structure, West intensifies the standard verse-chorus

alternation by disrupting the chorus that follows verse 2: although Bassey’s chorus begins

as expected, West presses onward with his rap, leading directly into verse 3 in a seamless

lyric delivery. The extended verse section (i.e., verse 2—disrupted chorus—verse 3) allows

the uninterrupted rap flow to build in intensity [01:34 - 03:13], the emerging story

beginning with an account of his father taking him to Church, then shifting to a concern

for the quality of songs (‘diamonds’) that are being mass-produced. West’s juxtaposition

of Bassey’s chorus hook with his emotionally charged rap creates a formal tension that

disrupts the rhetorical effect of the chorus; that is, while Bassey’s chorus is directed

towards a climactic resolution, West’s rap intensifies and denies resolution in its own

rhetorical sphere. The final verse leads to a close with West asserting his power as a

songwriter and producer. The song ends with a chorus and outro that features West

repeating his insistent harpsichord gesture.

The music video for ‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone’ (directed by Hype Williams)

juxtaposes images from the diamond mines with an up-scale diamond store. An elegantly

dressed West is seen on the streets of Prague and inside an ornate Church. The Porsche

that is mentioned in the lyrics appears as a visual emblem of wealth, not only his own as a

successful artist, but also implicitly the kind of wealth that emerges from the diamond

trade. The video climaxes when West drives the Porsche, with a child labourer as his

passenger, into the window of the diamond store. They jump from the vehicle before

crashing and run away with a group of other children. The video closes with the running

group (including West), heading into the Church, creating a narrative of resistance and

liberation for the child labourers. A second image of West as performer concludes the

song at the harpsichord, suggesting that he remains caught up in the performance world.

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 6

With this track, West invites his listeners to engage with a complex intersection of

words, music and images. Lyrically, the song introduces and interrogates events in West’s

professional life that have shaped his media reception. Musically, he creates a dialogue

between his voice and Bassey’s sampled voice. For West as a hip-hop producer, the lush

production values of the original track become the instrument over which he develops his

own dynamic expression. His unconventional modes of vocalization and intensification of

the musical form are heard in relation to the repetitive sampling of the original song. The

images of the video situate his struggles with fame in a larger social context as he

confronts the economic inequalities bound up with the ‘blood diamond’ trade. The lyrics,

music, and video images intersect to convey West’s social critique of consumer culture:

although the lyrics point to a self-reflexive or ‘internal’ modality, the video reveals his

understanding of the external forces that drive the cultural phenomena of interest to him.

‘Welcome to Heartbreak,’ 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

This song offers a meditation on life’s dreams and values in the face of the challenges of

fame and commercial success. In the form of an intimate communication, West’s lyrical

narrative expresses the isolation that the subject experiences as a result of his celebrity

lifestyle. Symbols of wealth (‘sports cars’ and ‘cribs’) are juxtaposed with symbols of

family life (‘report cards’).25 The introspective dialogue is continued in the chorus by

guest vocalist Kid Cudi who sings about a vision of ‘real’ life that the famous individual

can dimly perceive as though through a fog.26

West sculpts a sonic texture and vocal melody that reinforces the lyrical self-

reflection. A dark and slow-moving 8-bar phrase in the cello is metrically ambiguous until

the entry of the kick and Taiko drums in the last bar. The full instrumental arrangement

is established in the second phrase, featuring a pitch-modulated synth bass on the cello

melody, the kick on beats 1 and 3, a distorted backbeat snare crash, running rim shots

creating a ‘ticky’ groove and an active keyboard that develops motives from the cello

melody. As the first verse explores his longing for fatherhood, the subject’s emotional

emptiness is reinforced by a mechanical and distant but reverberant vocal. The keyboard

drops out, leaving a hollow space between the low bass, the high synth wash and the

aggressive backbeat snare. West’s voice occupies this space in an Auto-Tuned delivery

that masks his natural sung expression. The delay effects at the tail of each phrase create

a stark contrast to the strident backbeat snare. West’s overt critique of the celebrity

lifestyle is delivered in a vocal style that maintains a connection to the conventions of rap

by centring his vocal delivery on the tonic, but departs from rap by sustaining his pitches

in a singing tone. He infuses the limited melodic range with expressive tension and a

Sampling and Storytelling 7

sense of directionality by moving to the second and third degrees of the G-Aeolian scale

(A and B flat) and treating these as tendency tones that descend to the G tonic.

The dark soundscape of West’s verse contrasts with Kid Cudi’s gently sung chorus

vocals, which are overdubbed at a higher pitch level, phased, and split to the left and

right channels. In the centre of the mix, West’s strained, high-pitched ‘ooo’ emerges, a

full octave higher than his verse. The lyrics, when combined with West’s intensified vocal

expression, communicate a sense of urgency around the subject’s need to change his life.

After a second verse and chorus, the bridge offers a dramatic vocal intensification as

West leaps to a higher register and is accompanied by a string arrangement. His vocal line

symbolises his frustration and resignation by opening the phrase with the high-pitched

plaintive call (a leap to F4), but closing with the familiar gesture to the low G3 tonic. In

contrast to the intensity of the bridge, Verse 3 offers a sparse texture as the percussion

drops out and a low synth wash reinforces the loneliness expressed by the lyrics. As he

describes being late for his sister’s wedding, the contrast between the subject’s affective

landscape and that of his sister drives home the alienation that characterises his

existence. The outro and final chorus communicate a desperate and sorrowful sentiment

of being trapped in this lifestyle, as West repeats the lyrics, ‘No, I can’t stop.’

The video portrays an image of West, trapped by the symbols of celebrity status,

struggling to unmask himself. The video, directed by Nabil Elderkin,27 is characterised by

a post-production technique referred to as data moshing, which maintains the outline

and shape of a subject within an image, but transforms the figure with a mixture of color

and design elements from the background using pixel bleeding.28 In this process, the lines

between the body (what is ostensibly real) and the background become blurred and, at

times, erased, as in the effect of camouflage; bodies and faces are masked and merged.29

In the context of this particular music video, data moshing becomes a visual complement

to the audio interference created by the Auto-Tune device, which, in turn, depicts the

subject’s struggle with his own fame and materialism. The result is a simultaneous

manipulation of image and sound that compels the audience to question what is seen and

heard. Thematically, the video treats and represents data moshing and sound interference

as technological ‘problems’ that connote disconnection and resonate with the theme of

alienation. The video is also characterised by its use of numerous effects associated with

television, for instance, distortion, light flickering, pixilation and the color test pattern. At

the bridge section, which is also the climax of the video, West breaks through the glass of

a television screen and the screen dimensions change from wide-screen video format to

traditional television proportions. These television mediation strategies emphasise the

artifice of a materialist society, and point to the complexities of authenticity as they relate

to media exposure.

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 8

With this track, West tells a story about the damaging effects of celebrity status.

Musically, he breaks from rap’s norms by featuring a sung vocal presentation,

underscoring the emotional lyrics, and mediating his voice through the Auto-Tune

device, further depersonalizing the artist and distancing the individual from the deeply

personal and contemplative lyrics. This becomes readily apparent in the video where

West and Kid Cudi fade in and out of existence through the art of data moshing. The

vulnerability expressed by West on this track, and on 808s as a whole, represents a

marked departure from hip-hop’s musical and cultural norms.

‘Black Skinhead,’ Yeezus (2013)

This track references a number of significant rock songs: Marilyn Manson’s industrial

rock track, ‘The Beautiful People’ (1996); Gary Glitter’s glam rock track, ‘Rock and Roll’

(1972); and Depeche Mode’s alternative rock track, ‘Personal Jesus’ (1990).30 Building upon

these references, West offers a harsh and frank commentary on American racial and

religious politics in relation to the hip-hop industry. He criticises the hypocrisy of the

mainstream audience, as his race is held up as both an attraction and a threat. Popular

culture is criticised for its portrayal of the black man as an enforcer (‘goon’). In the face of

condemnation for his behaviors and artistic work, he insists upon his work’s integrity

(‘I’ve been a menace….but I’m devoted’). He resists a religion-based censorship with the

assertion of his status, turning religious symbolism on itself (‘I’m aware I’m a King, back

out of the tomb…’). Taking on the accusation that he is ‘possessed,’ he reinforces this

notion by identifying with the figure of the wolf, and with the power of the Roman army,

which West conflates with the Spartans, as portrayed in the film 300.31

The track opens in a manner reminiscent of the Marilyn Manson track with the highly

distorted 2-bar guitar riff (left and right) that is answered by the galloping 4-bar kit

phrase. A reverberant floor tom, tuned low, is heard in stark contrast to the white noise

effect of the crash cymbal and the heavy thud of the bass drum. The second phrase ushers

in a dryer ambiance, and incorporates rhythmic breathing, the heavy kick, resonant toms,

and backbeat handclaps in a gesture that invokes Glitter’s rhythmic shuffle and call, as

well as Depeche Mode’s rhythmic breathing. These sounds appear to travel unpredictably

across the stereophonic spectrum, creating a ‘chaotic’ effect. For instance during the

passage [00:17 – 00:25], we hear the abrupt cutting off of the sound to create the feeling of

stopped breath, distant ululations to the left and right, crisp toms panned hard to the left,

as well as a mechanical wipe that is heard to the right. To close this introductory section,

the distorted guitar riff returns for the last 2 bars, once again split left and right. With this

introduction, West appears to contrast natural sounds with mechanical effects: the

breathing, handclapping and ululations communicate at the level of embodied human

Sampling and Storytelling 9

expression, while the crisp drums, distorted guitar, and mechanical effects suggest a

harsh industrial context. The breathing draws the listener in, creating a sense of intimacy,

while the distorted and mechanical instrumental sounds create a sense of urgency leading

into the first verse.

During his rapped verse, West uses a variety of strategies to create lyrical emphasis.

His opening line, ‘For my theme song,’ is doubled and panned, creating a sense of depth

and breadth. As the verse continues, his line is centered, highly articulate, and quite dry

(minimal reverb). Around his voice we hear the active kick drum and snare in a shuffle

pattern (centered), the panned ululations and wipe, and accented interjections of a

centered mechanical voice saying ‘black.’ The latter vocal effect creates a ‘dehumanised’

voice in relation to West’s main vocal. As he describes the danger of a black man being

seen with a white woman, expressed through a reference to King Kong, the distorted

guitar riff returns and creates a strident counterpoint against his rapped vocal line.

The chorus features a sudden bass drop, with a low F sharp that is repeated on the

downbeat for four bars against West’s intense vocal delivery. Given the sparse texture, the

sharp intake of breath is an audible effect at the end of each bar-long vocal phrase. The

lyrical content here conveys urgency (‘They say I’m possessed’) and hyper-sexuality (‘300

bitches, where’s the Trojans?’). For the second set of four bars, the galloping drum and

cymbal pattern returns, as well as the ululations, while West’s vocal rises in spoken pitch

and intensity, his final line accentuated by a vocal call (‘ah’), which arrives on the

downbeat of the next phrase. This vocal call ushers in an after-chorus phrase of eight

bars, in which a reverberant call—treated with a delay effect—is heard in relation to

West’s desperate responses (‘I’m outta control’).

The after-chorus leads to a return of the distorted guitar riff and a repeat of the

chorus, followed by verse 2, chorus, after-chorus, and final outro. The outro is based on

the guitar riff over which we hear West’s repeated statement, ‘God.’ The riff-based formal

structure of this song is worth noting for West’s mobilization of a form derived from rock;

with this structure, and with the references to industrial rock, alternative rock and glam,

West once again extends hip-hop practices.

West’s ‘Black Skinhead’ video, filmed by photographer Nick Knight, focuses primarily

on West, with his body treated to a variety of production and post-production effects.

The black and white video opens with the image of three black Ku Klux Klan-inspired

hoods. As the image zooms in on these hoods, their white background becomes a frame

for the ensuing video scenes, creating the effect of ‘teeth’ around the images. Immediately

following the three KKK figures, we see the eyes and mouths of three vicious dogs, whose

mouths are sometimes shown throughout the video in extreme close-up.

The film focuses on the torso of Kanye West through a variety of camera angles,

perspectives, and fragmentations that encourage the fetishisation of his body. We see a

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 10

talc-covered (thus whitened) torso, a computer-modified image of West wearing a heavy

gold chain, a metallic monster, a possessed figure with glowing eyes, a tribal figure with

sub-dermal implants and a hulk figure, with exaggerated musculature. As we examine the

bodies from all angles, we discover that the figure with the sub-dermal implants also

bears scars from a whip on his back. With these images, West exposes and positions

himself in a variety of representations, suggesting that if we want to consume his image,

he can become whatever we wish him to be: the hip-hop artist in black leather jeans and

heavy gold chain; the muscular body who remains faceless, or the tribal body, bearing the

scars of slavery. During the final section of the song (at the repetition of the word ‘God’),

the camera remains fixed upon a faceless head and torso with gold chain. To close, the

black hoods return and the eyes from several hoods meet the spectator’s gaze. In this final

shot, there is no white background, so the only light on the screen is that which emanates

from the eyes.

In the lyrical domain, ‘Black Skinhead’ communicates a message of resistance to fame,

scrutiny and censorship, while in the visual domain, the images of West’s fetishised body

appear to pose a fundamental contradiction: instead of creating images that resist the all-

consuming gaze of the spectator, West invokes the stereotypes and mythologies around

African-American masculinity. And yet, the aggression of the images and the resistance of

the lyrics combine with the urgent industrial aesthetic of the music to establish that this

video is not meant to pander but rather, to challenge, the mainstream. By positioning

himself at the centre of his cultural commentary, West forces his viewers to witness that

the social norms, values and logics constituting the mainstream consumption of hip-hop

are underpinned by racist representations of the black man as monstrous spectacle,

rooted in and haunted by a particularly American iconography of slavery.

Conclusions

Many hip-hop artists are storytellers. Their narratives can be personal and convey a sense

of intimacy to the listener, while their music is often driven by social and political

concerns in narratives referred to as ‘conscious rap.’32 This analysis of Kanye West’s work

is offered as a case study of the hip-hop artist as singer-songwriter. Our analysis suggests

that West portrays intimate personal experiences in the context of broader commentaries

on largescale social issues. Throughout his career, he has consistently focused on themes

of race, gender, class, fame and consumer culture, writing himself into the stories in order

to contextualise his own lived experiences within larger political contexts.

This chronological approach, has enabled us to track a shift in both tone and content

across West’s work. The first three albums explore his initial desire for and gradual

accumulation of fame. His fourth album offers an anxious reflection on the damaging

Sampling and Storytelling 11

effects of fame, characterised by increasing isolation and despair. With his fifth and sixth

albums, West embarks on a harsh critique of race and class in relation to American

consumerism and the music industry.

We have also interpreted West’s musical contributions in relation to the singer-

songwriter tradition of forging distinctive vocal and instrumental strategies. As a singer

and producer, West manipulates his strategically chosen samples to yield new meanings

in the domains of lyrics and music, creating complex and multi-dimensional social

commentaries. In his role as singer-songwriter, he challenges dominant hip-hop

conventions, extending traditions by sampling materials from a range of styles and

genres, and by expanding the modes of hip-hop vocality to include melodic vocals and

Auto-Tune technology. Ultimately, these strategies serve to create a dynamic musical

expression that encourages immediacy between artist and listener.

Notes

1 See, for example, Nelson George, Hip Hop America (New York: Penguin Publishing, 1998); Imani Perry,

Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop (Durham: Duke University Press, 2004); Tricia Rose,

The Hip Hop Wars (New York: Basic Books, 2008); Adam Bradley, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop

(New York: Basic Civitas, 2009).

2 George, Hip Hop America, p. xiii; Rose, The Hip Hop Wars, p. ix-x.

3 We attribute authorial intention to West, although we recognise that he typically works with multiple

writers/producers. We ascribe ultimate author status to West, since these albums are presented as solo

albums, his name is generally listed first in the song-writing credits, and he holds executive producer status.

4 Josh Tyrangiel, ‘Why You Can't Ignore Kanye: More GQ than Gangsta, Kanye West is Challenging the Way

Rap Thinks About Race and Class -- and Striking a Chord with Fans of All Stripes,’ TIME 166/9 (August 29

2005), p. 54.

5 Tyrangiel, ‘Why You Can’t Ignore Kanye,’ p. 54.

6 West centers this track around a sample of Chaka Khan’s ‘Through the Fire.’ Sped-up 1970s soul vocal

sample became West’s trademark early in his career. The technique (‘Chipmunk Soul’) has been used by

other producers but remains most closely associated with West due to its prevalence on The College

Dropout.

7 808s does not feature a great deal of sampling, although ‘Coldest Winter’ is based on Tears for Fears’

‘Memories Fade,’ ‘Robocop’ features a brief sample from Patrick Doyle’s ‘Kissing in the Rain,’ and the

percussion in ‘Bad News’ bears close resemblance to Nina Simone’s ‘See Line Woman.’ ‘Kissing in the Rain’

is an orchestral piece from the Great Expectations soundtrack (1998).

8 See, for example, Tom Breihan, ‘Music: Post-Graduate Depression,’ The Village Voice 53/48 (2008), p. 64;

Clover Hope, ‘The 100 Problems of Kanye West,’ The Village Voice 54/4 (January 21, 2009-January 27, 2009),

p. 72; Jody Rosen, ‘After a Hard Breakup, Kanye Writes His Own “Blood on the Tracks,”’ Rolling Stone

(December 11, 2008), pp. 91-92; Sean Fennessey, ‘Pride (In the Name of Love).’ Vibe Magazine 17/2 (February

2009), p. 80.

Burns, Woods and Lafrance 12

9 Kanye West, ‘Singapore Press Conference, November 3, 2008.’ Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTNe5xcv3Y0&feature=player_embedded (accessed July 16, 2012).

10 For example, see Emma Carmichael, ‘Kanye’s 808s: How A Machine Brought Heartbreak to Hip Hop,’ The

Awl. (21 September 2011). Available at: http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/kanye’s-808s-how-a-machine-

brought-heartbreak-to-hip-hop (accessed July 16, 2012).

11 Kanye West, “New Zealand Press Conference, December 1, 2008, part 2” Retrieved from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzf5IdCGFXE (accessed July 16, 2012).

12 Fennessey, ‘Pride (In the Name of Love),’ p. 83

13 For a discussion of the significance of the sample to hip-hop music and the concept of musical

authenticity attached to the sample, please see Bartlett (especially 573) and Schloss (especially Chapter 3).

14 West, ‘Singapore Press Conference.’

15 Kanye West, ‘New Zealand Press Conference, December 1, 2008, part 1’ Retrieved from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dZCmnMZJbY (accessed July 16, 2012).

16 Andy Kellman, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Album Review,’ AllMusic.com. Retrieved from:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-mw0002022752 (accessed July 28,

2014).

17 Kellman, ‘My Beautiful.’

18 Zane Lowe, ‘BBC Radio 1 Interview with Kanye West.’ Retrieved from:

http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/09/kanye-west-says-mbdtf-perfect-yeezus-advancing-culture/

(accessed July 28, 2014).

19 Vernon Coleman, ‘Kanye West Says MBDTF was “Perfect”, Yeezus is Advancing the Culture,’ XXL.com

(September 3, 2013). Retrieved from: http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/09/kanye-west-says-mbdtf-

perfect-yeezus-advancing-culture/ (accessed July 28, 2014).

20 Lowe, ‘BBC Radio 1 Interview.’

21 ‘Blood on the Leaves’ samples Nina Simone’s performance of ‘Strange Fruit’ (1965) as well as ‘R U Ready’

(2012) by electronic/hip-hop producers TNGHT who co-produced the track with West. ‘New Slaves’ relies

on a sample of Hungarian rock band Omega’s ‘Gyöbgyajú Lány’ (1969), and the melodic contour of featured

artist Frank Ocean’s vocal line is closely connected to Omega’s original melody.

22 The single version was included as a bonus track on the album, and was the source for the music video,

directed by Hype Williams. A remix of the song, with an additional verse by Jay-Z, was used as track 13 on

the album.

23 As he refers to his rhymes and ‘the Roc’, the video shows West to be making a diamond shape with his

hands, the common gesture representing Roc-A-Fella Records.

24 It is also worth noting that his gesture here suggests a performance reference to Outkast’s ‘Ms. Jackson’

from their 2000 album Stankonia.

25 During a 2009 interview with Sway on The Morning Show, West described an incident where ‘Dave from

MTV’ was showing him pictures, ‘and there was nothing that I could pull out or show him that could top

Sampling and Storytelling 13

what he was doing….You know what just shuts everything down for anybody who’s thirty years old?

Somebody showing you their kids if you don’t have kids.’

26 Kid Cudi gained the attention of the hip-hop community with his 2008 mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. West

signed him to his label Good Music.

27 Nabil Elderkin (http://vimeo.com/nabilelderkin/videos) collaborated with Kanye West for the videos

‘Paranoid’ and ‘Coldest Winter’ and has directed videos for a number of acclaimed artists (e.g., Frank

Ocean’s ‘Novocaine,’ and Bon Iver’s ‘Holocene’).

28 See Peter Kirn, ‘Data Moshing the Online Videos: My God, It’s Full of Glitch,’ Create Digital Motion (18

February 2009). Retrieved from: http://createdigitalmotion.com/2009/02/data-moshing-the-online-videos-

my-god-its-full-of-glitch/ (accessed June 29, 2012).

29 Chairlift’s ‘Evident Utensil’ (2009), directed by Nabil Elderkin, uses data-moshing to a more playful and

pleasure-oriented effect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvqakws0CeU

30 These musical references are not actual samples, but rather intertextual references. Multiple musical

elements are borrowed from the existing track in order to create a sonic link.

31 The theme of the monstrous has emerged throughout the latter part of West’s career. Notable songs

include ‘Amazing’ (808s), ‘Monster’ (MBDTF)

32 Common, Nas, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco fall within this category. Adam Krims refers to this rap genre as

Jazz/Bohemian Rap; see Adam Krims, Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity (New York: Cambridge

University Press, 2001) pp. 65-70. We should note that Krims’ use of the term bohemian is problematic as it

implies an association with a white cultural movement rejecting certain conventions of dominant culture

that would not necessarily be embraced by black artists.